About This Book
Here are some of the things you can do
using this book:
Plan your website project.
Assemble and manage a web
team or draw on online resources.
Create layouts, graphics, naviga-
tion menus, and web pages from
scratch.
Optimize graphic elements for
your web pages.
Work with HTML, HTML5, CSS,
and CSS3 to create and maintain
your pages.
Add interactive animated
menus, navigation elements, and
other content with JavaScript and
jQuery Mobile.
Create forms and manage form
input with PHP scripts or online
data management tools.
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Generate and embed search
tools for your site.
Embed live and streaming data,
including RSS feeds and blogs, in
your site.
Add multimedia content, such
as audio and video.
Integrate e-commerce into your
website project.
Maintain and promote a
website.
Explore JavaScript for anima-
tion and interactivity and PHP re-
sources for server-side coding.
Foolish
Assumptions
We have, perhaps foolishly, made a
few assumptions about our readers.
We expect that you have basic com-
puter skills (Windows, Mac, or Linux)
and a basic understanding of how to
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use a browser and the Internet. The
authors and publisher of this book
assume you're a bright, intelligent
person who wants to learn but doesn't
have the time to read a book from
cover to cover. We assume you'll find
the information you need by perus-
ing the index and then cutting to the
chase to read that section.
If you don't have any prior knowledge
of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, or
graphics software, that's okay: We give
you the basics here. We do assume
that you have more than a passing in-
terest in web design. In fact, this book
is geared for web designers, or anyone
with aspirations of becoming a web
designer. If you don't have any prior
experience with web design or man-
aging website projects, that's okay,
too. This book starts at the beginning
before moving into more advanced
topics.
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Conventions
Used in This
Book
By conventions, we simply mean a
set of rules we've employed in this
book to present information to you
consistently. When you see a term
italicized, look for its definition, which
we include so that you know what
things mean in the context of website
construction. Sometimes, we give you
information to enter onscreen; in this
case, we make bold what you need to
type. We place website addresses and
e-mail addresses in monofont so that
they stand out from regular text. Code
appears in its own font, set off from
the rest of the text, like this:
Never mind the furthermore,
the plea is self-defense.
Throughout the book, you'll find
icons such as Technical Stuft, Tips,
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Warnings, and Remember. These little
tidbits are cold, hard facts we found
out the hard way. We sprinkle this
information liberally so you won't fall
into the same chuckholes we did-or
worse, ernd up with egg on your face.
What You Don't
Have to Read
We structure this book modularly-
that is, it's designed so that you can
easily find just the information you
need-so you don't have to read
whatever doesn't pertain to your task
at hand. We include sidebars here
and there throughout the book that
contain interesting information that
isn't necessarily integral to the dis-
cussion at hand; feel free to skip over
these. You also don't have to read the
paragraphs next to the Technical Stuff
icons, which parse out über-techie
tidbits (which might or might not be
your cup of tea).
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How This Book
Is Organized
Building Websites All-in-One For Dum-
mies, 3rd Edition, is split into 10 mini-
books. You don't have to read them
sequentially, you don't have to look
at every minibook, you don't have to
review each chapter, and you don't
even have to read all the sections in
any particular chapter. (Of course, you
can if you want to; it's a good read.)
The Table of Contents and the index
can help you quickly find whatever
information you need. In this section,
we briefly describe what each mini-
book contains.
Book I: Getting
Ready
This minibook covers all the things
you need to do before you start actu-
ally creating a website. The topics of
planning, managing your project, fly-
ing solo on a project, and assembling
and managing a web-design team
are all covered here. We also include
information about creating a site that
portrays an organization in a flatter-
ing light while providing visitors with
content that keeps them coming back
for more.
Book II: Designig
the Site
Site design is about the nuts and bolts
of how a site works and about making
the visual aspects work within the
technical needs, and this minibook
helps you make these two worlds
come together. From sketches on the
back of an envelope, to working with
navigation flowcharts, to generating
the perfect color scheme for your
style and message, we explore a whole
range of options and dimensions to
web design. In short, if you're looking
for information about creating lay-
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